East Oakland: Police identify man killed in drive-by shooting

OAKLAND -- A 19-year-old man killed in a drive-by shooting Thursday afternoon as he was leaving a friend's house in East Oakland was identified as William Ward, police said Friday.

Ward, an Oakland resident, was walking in the 8300 block of Hillside Street at about 3:15 p.m. when he was shot. Police have not made any arrests and don't have a motive in the slaying.

Police on Friday also said that a 34-year-old man who collapsed and died during a fight Thursday with another man in the backyard of a house in another part of East Oakland was not the victim of a homicide.

An autopsy revealed no signs of trauma to Jason Hughes of Oakland. Although the cause of death is deferred pending toxicology results, it appears Hughes apparently died from either an existing medical condition -- he suffered from asthma -- or another medical problem, authorities said.

Police said Hughes was fighting with a 60-year-old man who lived at the house in the 6300 block of MacArthur Boulevard where the death occurred at about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. Police would not say what the men were fighting over.

Earlier Thursday, Kyal Porter, 24, of Oakland was shot while riding a bicycle at 5:32 a.m. in the 9800 block of A Street near International Boulevard. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Porter lived in a different part of East Oakland, not close to where he was found shot to death, police said.

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More than a dozen shots had been fired, authorities said. Investigators were interviewing possible witnesses and reviewing video surveillance from cameras in the area looking for leads. No arrests have been made.

The shootings were Oakland's 46th and 47th homicides of 2013. Last year at this time there were 55 homicides in Oakland.

Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for each homicide. Anyone with information should call police at 510-238-3821 or a tip line at 510-773-2805 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.